


Prompt fill: A Fishboy in Verona

by SosearchingRomeo (Breakingthestandards)



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types, Rómeó és Júlia (Színház)
Genre: Mercutio is a merman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:49:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6146707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breakingthestandards/pseuds/SosearchingRomeo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt was: fishy Merman Mercutio is caught by the Prince of Verona and all citizens think they have a right to decide what to do with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prompt fill: A Fishboy in Verona

  
They’d caught him and now the entire city was abuzz. Everyone wanted to see the miracle, the impossible, the man who came from the water and who needed it to stay alive. Needless to say Verona wasn’t near any coast.  But they had the Adige, a river crossing the city, and it would have to do. Though the water seemed to tease the boy’s fins, there was no other solution but a few barriers placed in the river which disabled him to escape while the water could still pass through.   
  
Like this, the merman boy caught by the prince was kept near the Cattedrale Santa Maria Matricolare where the Prince had guards keep an eye on him and people were only allowed to watch if they paid a good coin. The Prince of Verona could do this for he was not only the most powerful man in the City, he was also the man who had caught the merman during his holiday near the sea.  
  
And he had named him. Prince Escalus had caught the boy in one of his ship’s nets, had prodded and poked the curious-looking creature with the otherworldly blonde hair with a red hue to it. He had named the boy Mercutio Escalus to show everyone that he belonged to him. Mercutio sounded like a good name, reminding everyone in the City of the Roman God Mercuty who not only guided souls in the underworld but more importantly was a figure associated with financial gain and commerce - and Prince Escalus was aware how such a rarity, such a beauty, would provide him a new income.  
  
People did pay to see him. Mercutio, top a beautiful man with an appearance they’d never before seen in their lands, and bottom as if he were a goldfish. The boy was shy though, laughed when they caught him but did little afterwards. He seemed to love poetry - something also associated to the god Mercuty, and the Prince made sure that one of his maids would go to the river to read poetry to the fishman every day. Mercutio deserved such a thing for every time a poem was recited to him he seemed to learn another word or two in their language. And the people loved him for it.  
  
But not everyone was happy with the new catch. The boy was a monstrosity for he wasn’t a human. Especially the Montagues were repusled by the creature and claimed that by catching it and keeping it imprisoned in the river the Prince had doomed their city. For surely Mercutio must be related to the underworld?  
  
Romeo Montague, brave foolish boy, and Benvolio his cousin visited the river several times a week. They actually paid to see Mercutio at first but later on managed to sneak past the guards. Mercutio would always smile when he saw them, and the boys took their time to talk to him. They asked him if he wouldn’t rather be free? If he missed his home? And when they saw he did they tried to distract him with fun things, like mischief and dirty stories that had the merman laugh openly - all with the promise upon depart that they would get him free.  
  
Mercutio was grateful of this. He viewed the two Montagues as his friends.  
  
To the Prince it was all easy. Mercutio was to be kept to be viewed and to gain him income. To the Montagues he was a hellish creature who needed to be let free. To the Capulets he was something luxurious for their menu - it seemed Lord Capulet had decided that he wanted to taste the fishboy.   
  
And so it was on one day that the nephew of Lord Capulet, Tybalt, was sent on a quest to retrieve the fishboy for dinner. But when he arrived at the river he found he couldn’t get past the guards.   
  
Until he saw Romeo and Benvolio Montague. The two boys slipped round a corner, made their way into an alley, and Tybalt followed in silence - grateful he was sent on this quest on his own and wasn’t bothered by Peter or Sampson.   
  
He saw the two boys climb a fence, look around to see if someone noticed them but they missed sight of Tybalt who stepped back into the shadows. And like that they jumped over the fence and made their way to the river. The maid had just left, leaving Mercutio to murmur a repeat of the poetry she had just recited when the boys greeted him.  
  
“Good Mercutio, what new words have you learnt?” Romeo asked with a laugh.  
  
“Nothing.” Mercutio said with a cheeky smile, his tail splashing water all over the boys who then laughed.  
  
“Nothing indeed.” Benvolio said with a clap of his hands. He was delighted, for the word nothing was in itself the word the merman had learnt that day. “I’m proud of you. Soon you can negotiate your own freedom.”  
  
The merman let out a shrill laugh. “As if the Prince would let me go.” He sighed, then placed his forehead on his hands and drifted at the side of the river. The Montagues looked at each other.

“Cheer up, good Mercutio. We’ll find a way to get you out. And once you are free you have to go crash one of the Capulet parties with us.” Wait, Tybalt frowned. Was that Romeo’s suggestion?  
  
“After all, you told us you’d love to do that one day.” Romeo continued. Ah, that explained it. The mischievous idea came all from the fishboy himself.  
  
Tybalt crunched his nose. Tyhe thought of having a fish in the ballroom was displeasing. Fish didn’t belong on a dance floor, and neither should it talk. Fish belonged on a plate. He could already imagine the praise he would get when his uncle were to taste the exotic fish.   
  
“If I ever get out of here I wish to go back and see Val.” Mercutio said with a pout, then started to grin again. “Then again, a bit of a party first can’t do harm.”   
  
The boys laughed and Tybalt had heard enough. He withdrew and for the coming hour listened to the faint words brought to him by the breeze, the laughter of the boys and Mercutio’s occasional shouts of ‘Nothing!’   
  
Once he saw Romeo and Benvolio slip away down the alley he knew his time had come and entered it. After cautiously looking around he made his way to the fence and just as he was about to climb it felt a hand hold him back.  
  
He jumped and looked at the culprit who nearly gave him a heart attack. It was his cousin Juliet.  
  
“Did you follow me?” He asked sternly with a frown.  
  
She merely smiled sweetly at him. “I know you wish to please papa, but be careful. I’ll stay here on the look-out.”  
  
Tybalt knew how stubborn his cousin was and knew not to argue. In the alley Juliet would be safe and so he nodded, then climbed the fence. He was barely on the other side when he heart Juliet whisper to him. “Be careful.”  
  
He made his way to the river and looked around. Mercutio was nowhere to be seen. Yet he couldn’t be very far. The nets and barriers would stop him. he could not escape.  
  
Thus the Capulet started marching up and down the riverbank. All the while whistling and cooing. “Mercutio? Where art thou? Come now, Mercutio, show yourself. Don’t be shy.”  
  
When finally the boy showed himself it was just the head with the orange-like hair. Two big eyes stared at Tybalt, a question written in them, and then the boy swum closer but didn’t show his tail.  
  
This was eerie.  
  
Tybalt felt a shiver run down his spine. The way Mercutio presented himself he could just be another boy in the water for a swim. Without the sign of his tail there was no saying he was a delicatesse. Though his face was very pretty and his torse lean and quite delicious to look at.  
  
The Capulet felt his cheeks burn hot. How could he have such thoughts about a fish from hell?  
  
“Came to eat me, Tybalt Capulet?”  
  
The boy spat the words at him and Tybalt hesitated. “You know my name?”  
  
“You know mine.” The fishboy replied.  
  
Damn, Tybalt’s hand twitched into a fist. The boy looked very much like a boy now - not quite like a fish. And he spoke, so rapidly, so melodious. Was he magical creature? Was that it?   
  
“I need a good excuse not to bring you home to our table.” Tybalt heard himself say and reluctantly realised he felt no desire to bring this creature to the butcher- despite the orders of his uncle.  
  
“I’m poisonous, you know.” Mercutio glad-fully provided him.  
  
Tybalt huffed and quickly spun around. When his eyes slid to the fence he felt rage take him over. There, behind the fence stood Juliet, talking animatedly to the Montague boy known as Romeo. Why had the bastard returned?  
  
“Romeo.” The name escaped him as a growl and he could hear splashing behind him.  
  
When he looked over his shoulder he saw Mercutio peek over the edge of the riverbank. “Oh yeah.” He said, then whistled a tune Tybalt didn’t recognise. For a moment his tail showed and Tybalt quickly averted his eyes.  
  
Without another word said he made his way back to the fence and growled at his cousin. “Juliet. Romeo.” The latter quickly stole a kiss from his cousin and then made his way out of the alley. He was just in time for Tybalt had climbed back over the fence.  
  
With a fist raised the Capulet scolded the now-escaped boy and was only calmed when Juliet pushed his fist down.  
  
“Please, let us go home.” She whispered to him. She glanced over his shoulder and noticed the merman looking at them.  
  
“You didn’t bring him?” She said.  
  
“It’s not worth the trouble.” Tybalt replied. “He’s poisonous.”  
  
He didn’t know that his uncle would demand proof for that statement later on. For now he was satisfied to go home without Mercutio and leave the merman to live another day. He also didn’t know that the respite meant the Montagues could free Mercutio and that he would not land on his uncle’s table that easily.  
  
But those where things he, at this moment, didn’t know.


End file.
